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The average investment return on U.S. college endowments was dismal in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

But several Ohio schools beat that trend and posted strong gains. Ohio State University’s endowment had the greatest growth among the 50 largest college-funding pools in the nation: up 11.6 percent to $2.4 billion.

That’s enough of an increase to lift OSU’s endowment to 29th largest from 31st, according to an annual survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute.

“We’re pleased with the results,” said Jonathan Hook, Ohio State’s chief investment officer. “But we always want more; we want that number to be higher.”

Among smaller endowments, the University of Toledo’s grew by 58 percent to nearly $311 million in the 2012 fiscal year, compared with $197 million a year earlier. Ohio University’s jumped by 22 percent to almost $409 million in 2012, up from $336 million in 2011.

The Youngstown State University Foundation increased by 9 percent to $207 million, pushing it into the top third of university endowments in the country.

“Our conservative approach has kept us from riding the roller coaster of ups and downs through these uncertain economic times,” said Paul McFadden, president of the Youngstown State University Foundation board.

The foundation hopes to earn even more money for student scholarships after it tweaks its portfolio so it is not quite as cautious, he said.

More-modest increases in long-term investment pools were reported by the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Franklin University in Downtown Columbus, Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio Northern University in Ada and the Sinclair Community College Foundation in Dayton.

Nationally, the average return of college endowments was a loss of 0.3 percent, a drastic change from the average 19.2 percent gain in 2011. The good news is that 10-year returns averaged 6.2 percent in 2012, up from 5.6 percent in 2011, suggesting that long-term performance for many schools continues to improve.

But last year’s decline remains troubling, several higher-education officials warn, because it comes as schools are being squeezed by state budget cuts and are under increasing pressure to keep tuition increases down because of rising student debt.

The study also has some wondering whether schools will be able to continue to spend out of their endowments at the rates they traditionally have: typically 4 percent to 5 percent of the funds’ total value. To keep up, colleges need returns of about 7.4 percent annually, experts say.

Ohio State hired Hook in 2008 to oversee the university’s long-term investment pool because of his national reputation. At Baylor University in Texas, Hook built one of the top-performing university endowments in the country, with a record annual return of 25.2 per-cent in 2004. (Baylor’s fund dropped 4 percent last year to $977 million.)

Ohio State trustees adopted a five-year investment plan in mid-2009. And Hook and his staff continue to look for opportunities to diversify the university’s investment portfolio to increase returns without taking on too much risk.

He credited much of the growth in the 2012 fiscal year to the school’s having raised $365 million, the second-highest amount, trailing only the record $407.6 million raised in 2011. Since then, Ohio State also has received a lump-sum payment of $483 million from leasing its parking operation to private investors, which probably will push the school past the $3 billion mark.

Ohio University also had a banner fundraising year, said Stephen T. Golding, OU’s chief financial officer. And the school hired a new investment manager and benefited from the sale of royalty rights for a drug invented by researchers at the campus.

Franklin University’s endowment grew by3.1 percent in 2012. President David Decker said that’s a solid increase, considering what happened at many other schools. Unlike some campuses, the private school doesn’t use endowment earnings to pay operating expenses. Instead, the money is spent on such things as increasing arts-and-sciences offerings and expanding outside Columbus through new campuses, international partnerships and online classes.